320 



MODERN SHEEP: BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



"SHEPHERD BOY 



of their presence. The writer, in his experience in the slaughter- 

 house, has found grub worms in the heads of sheep which, to all 

 appearance, were in a perfect state of health; Especially has this 

 been true in the case of the Dorsets. It is customary to chop the 

 horns from horned sheep prior to skinning them and it is in the 



cavity of the horn where 

 these worms are usually 



t found. That the disease 



known as gid, which is al- 

 * ]m most always attributed to 



the grub worm, should not 

 be so charged in many 

 cases the writer is con- 

 vinced, since he has killed 

 many sheep that were suf- 

 fering badly from "gid" 

 which had no signs what- 

 ever of grub in the head, 

 but on the contrary had 

 what is known as "cysts" 

 (small bladders contain- 



Gru'b Worms. Natural Size. ing water) which, On aC- 



count of pressure brought 



about by direct contact with the brain, cause the giddiness. A 

 sheep attacked with gid should be slaughtered for mutton, if in 

 good condition, as it rarely recovers from the attack. - This trouble 

 does not interfere with the wholesomeness of the meat. 



The most effectual remedy or preventive, rather, for the 

 attack of the gadfly is to rub tar on the sheep's .nose. A time- 

 saving way of applying this is to bore a number of holes in a 

 log and after filling them with salt cover with tar. The sheep 

 in trying to get the salt will unconsciously do the work of smear- 

 ing their noses in the most perfect manner. Care should be taken 

 that the holes be bored not too much on one side, as the result 

 will be that the sheep will get their fleeces instead of their noses 

 daubed with the tar. Some authorities on sheep husbandry recom- 

 mend the ploughing of a portion of the field in which the sheep 

 are pastured so that when dry it acts as a dust bath for the sheep, 

 which will effectually keep the fly from them. Careful, observant, 

 shepherds must have noticed that, when the gadfly is a-round, the 

 sheep will make for any dusty position that conditions afford, 

 and will continue to stamp and raise a dust until their tormentors 

 leave them. There is, however, little need for the dust if tar 

 is brought into use. 



TAPEWORMS. 



Large numbers of sheep die annually in this and other coun- 

 tries from the ravages of this deadly parasite. Although one of 



